To receive for approval the minutes of a meeting of the Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee 1 of the 14^th September 2017.

Item 9, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Reform, a Member of the Committee explained that the Educational Psychology Service was under pressure because of staffing issues and not financial restraints as reported in the minutes.

Item 9, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Reform, the Scrutiny Officer explained that following the last meeting, officers had investigated further and realised that it was too late in the process for a number of the recommendations to be forwarded to Welsh Government and Cabinet and the minutes were corrected to reflect the latest information.

Members were frustrated that this Bill had been around for a number of years and they had not had an opportunity to influence it. It was very difficult to influence a Bill after stage 1 so scrutiny should have been consulted at a much earlier stage. The Committee agreed to include this as a future recommendation.

RESOLVED:           That the Minutes of the meeting of Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee 1 dated 14^th September 2017 be approved as a true and accurate record, subject to the changes listed below.

1)    Members noted that the Educational Psychology Service was under pressure because of staffing issues and not financial restraints as reported in the minutes.

2)    The Committee recommended that:

a.               Funding be ring-fenced by the Local Authority  and  Schools to ensure it is used to meet the needs of the Bill and the needs of young people with ALN;

b.             Specific funding for Post-16 ALN provision be identified and allocated as an invest to save measure;

c.             Cabinet recognise and incorporate the significant role of the Educational Psychologist in the establishment and delivery of future support and services for those with ALN;

d.             Cabinet consider apprenticeships as a method for young people with ALN to progress into employment;

e.             Suitable support and resources be allocated to support frontline staff such as ALNCOs and Teachers in order to ensure they are able to deal with the extra responsibilities under the Bill and manage with increased workloads; 

f.              Allowance be made for the associated costs for frontline staff based on the expected need for Job Evaluation on any new appointments or additional duties;

g.             Budgeted gross expenditure on ALN provision in 2018/19 is increased in preparation for the implementation of new legislation to assist in the transition period;

h.              The Authority works towards ensuring that a minimum of 80% of the budget allocated to ALN pupils is delegated to individual schools and that mechanisms should be in place to ensure those schools are using the funding for its stated purpose of supporting ALN;

i.               The Local Authority considers how home to school transport arrangements will be affected as part of the new provisions contained in the Bill;

j.               The Authority learns from best practice from local authorities from Wales and beyond in an effort to improve the academic performance of those young people with ALN achieving level 2 threshold inclusive which currently stands at 26.3%;

k.             The Authority assesses the required resources, workforce planning and training arrangements to support implementation of the Bill;

l.               The Authority looks to strengthen its relationship with the FE sector in Bridgend to make the provisions of the Bill work effectively, especially in the challenging transition to further education and work-based learning.

m.            The Authority explore whether any work has been carried out in the third sector on analysis of the resulting costs associated with support for adults who have not had sufficient educational provision as a young person.  Furthermore that if this has not already been undertaken by those in the third Sector that the Authority look to commission an independent analysis of these associated costs, both directly to the LA as well as indirectly to other public services.  Such an analysis would help put the costs of supporting children with ALN into perspective;

Recommendations to Welsh Government

a)             That job coaching schemes be considered for introduction in Wales, based on the success experienced in England for young people with ALN accessing work through such schemes;

That more funding and provision be provided in Wales for schemes such as ‘Access to Work’ to assist individuals with Additional Learning Needs in gaining employment.